Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the
spinning frame
The spinning frame is an Industrial Revolution invention for spinning thread or yarn from fibres such as wool or cotton in a mechanized way. It was developed in 18th-century Britain by Richard Arkwright and John Kay.
Historical context
In 1 ...
, known as the
water frame
The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel. Water frames in general have existed since Ancient Egypt times. Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1769, designed a model for the production of cotton thread; ...
after it was adapted to use
water power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...
; and he patented a rotary
carding
Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...
engine to convert raw cotton to 'cotton lap' prior to spinning. He was the first to develop factories housing both mechanised carding and spinning operations.
Arkwright's achievement was to combine power, machinery, semi-skilled labour and the new raw material of cotton to create mass-produced
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...
. His organisational skills earned him the accolade "father of the modern industrial factory system,"
notably through the methods developed in his mill at
Cromford
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
(now preserved as part of the
Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site).
Life and family
![Susannah Arkwright, mrs Charles Hurt (1762–1835) and her daughter Mary Anne, by Joseph Wright of Derby](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Susannah_Arkwright%2C_mrs_Charles_Hurt_%281762%E2%80%931835%29_and_her_daughter_Mary_Anne%2C_by_Joseph_Wright_of_Derby.jpg)
Richard Arkwright was born in
Preston,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England on 23 December 1732, the youngest of seven surviving children. His father, Thomas, was a tailor and a
Preston Guild
Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...
burgess. Richard's parents, Sarah and Thomas, could not afford to send him to school and instead arranged for him to be taught to read and write by his cousin Ellen. He was apprenticed to a Mr Nicholson, a barber at the nearby town of
Kirkham, and began his working life as a barber and wig-maker, setting up a shop at Churchgate in
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
in the early 1760s. It was here that he invented a waterproof dye for use on the fashionable
periwigs of the time, the income from which later funded his prototype cotton machinery.
Arkwright married his first wife, Patience Holt, in 1755. They had a son,
Richard Arkwright Junior
Richard Arkwright junior (19 December 1755 – 23 April 1843), the son of Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, was a mills owner, turned banker, investor and financier (creditor) of many successful state and private entreprises of the ...
, who was born the same year. Patience died in 1756, and then in 1761 Arkwright, aged 29, married Margaret Biggins. They had three children, of whom only Susannah survived to adulthood. At some time after the death of his first wife, Arkwright became interested in the development of
carding
Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...
and
spinning machinery to replace hand labour in the conversion of raw cotton to thread for weaving.
Spinning frame
In 1768, Arkwright and
John Kay, a clockmaker, returned to Preston, renting rooms in a house on Stoneygate (now called
Arkwright House), where they worked on a spinning machine. In 1769 Arkwright patented the
spinning frame
The spinning frame is an Industrial Revolution invention for spinning thread or yarn from fibres such as wool or cotton in a mechanized way. It was developed in 18th-century Britain by Richard Arkwright and John Kay.
Historical context
In 1 ...
, a machine which produced twisted threads (initially for warps only), using wooden and metal cylinders rather than human fingers. This machine, initially powered by horses (see
below), greatly reduced the cost of cotton-spinning, and would lead to major changes in the textile industry.
Carding engine
Lewis Paul
Lewis Paul (died 1759) was the original inventor of roller spinning, the basis of the water frame for spinning cotton in a cotton mill.
Life and work
Lewis Paul was of Huguenot descent. His father was physician to Lord Shaftesbury. He may hav ...
had invented a machine for
carding
Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...
in 1748. Arkwright made improvements to this machine and in 1775 took out a patent for a new carding engine, which converted raw cotton to a continuous skein prior to spinning.
The machine used a succession of uneven rollers rotating at increasingly higher speeds to draw out the
roving
A roving is a long and narrow bundle of fiber. Rovings are produced during the process of making spun yarn from wool fleece, raw cotton, or other fibres. Their main use is as fibre prepared for spinning, but they may also be used for specialised ...
, before applying a twist via a bobbin-and-flyer mechanism. It could make cotton
thread thin and strong enough for the
warp
Warp, warped or warping may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books and comics
* WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher
* ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!''
* Warp (comics), a ...
threads of
cloth
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
.
Cromford Mill
Arkwright and John Smalley of Preston set up a small horse-driven factory at
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. To obtain capital for expansion, Arkwright formed a partnership with
Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt (1726 – 7 May 1797) or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelled it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.
Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the ...
and Samuel Need, wealthy
nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
hosiery manufacturers. In 1771, the partners built the world's first water-powered mill at
Cromford
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...
, which covered both carding and spinning operations and employed 200 people.
![Arkright's Mill - Cromford 29-04-06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Arkright%27s_Mill_-_Cromford_29-04-06.jpg)
In 1776 Arkwright built a second, larger mill at Cromford and, soon afterwards, mills at
Bakewell
Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...
,
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...
and elsewhere (see
below). His success as a businessman and innovator was widely recognized in his own time. The spinning frame was a significant advance over
Hargreaves's
spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi- spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Sta ...
, in that very little training was required to operate the machinery, which produced a strong yarn suitable for
warp
Warp, warped or warping may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books and comics
* WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher
* ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!''
* Warp (comics), a ...
threads.
Grand Patent
To strengthen his position in relation to his many competitors and emulators, Arkwright obtained a "grand patent" in 1775, which he hoped would consolidate his position within the fast-growing cotton industry. Public opinion, however, was bitterly hostile to exclusive patents, and in 1781 Arkwright initiated legal proceedings to assert his rights. The case dragged on in court until 1785, when it was finally settled against him on the grounds that his specifications were deficient: the court had also heard assertions that the spinning frame was actually the invention of Arkwright's employee
John Kay, or of
Thomas Highs
Thomas Highs (1718–1803), of Leigh, Lancashire, was a reed-maker and manufacturer of cotton carding and spinning engines in the 1780s, during the Industrial Revolution. He is known for claiming patents on a spinning jenny (invented by Jame ...
, Kay's previous employer.
Factories and the factory system
![Masson Mills and Willersley Castle, Cromford - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Masson_Mills_and_Willersley_Castle%2C_Cromford_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1194578.jpg)
With the expansion of the mill at Cromford, it soon became apparent that the existing population of the town would be inadequate to provide the labour needed for the scale of operations which Arkwright was planning. He therefore brought in workers from outside the locality, building a cluster of cottages near the mill to house them (he also built the Greyhound public house, which still stands in Cromford market square). Stuart Fisher states that the workers' homes are now considered to be "the first factory housing development in the world".
Arkwright instigated novel and highly disciplined working arrangements at Cromford. Work was organised in two 13-hour shifts per day, including an overlap for the change of shift. Bells rang at 5 am and 5 pm and the gates were shut precisely at 6 am and 6 p.m.: anyone who was late was excluded from work for the rest of the day and lost an extra day's pay. Arkwright encouraged weavers with large families to move to Cromford. Whole families were employed, including large numbers of children as young as seven (subsequently increased to ten); and towards the end of his tenure, nearly two-thirds of the 1,150 employees were children. He allowed employees a week's holiday a year, on condition that they did not travel beyond the town.
After establishing the mill at Cromford, Arkwright returned to Lancashire and took up a lease of the Birkacre mill at
Chorley, which was to become a catalyst for the town's growth into one of the most important industrialised towns of the Industrial Revolution.
In 1777 Arkwright leased the
Haarlem Mill
Haarlem Mill, on the River Ecclesbourne in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, was an early cotton mill. Built by Richard Arkwright, it was the first cotton mill in the world to use a steam engine, though this was used to supplement the supply of water to th ...
in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, where he installed the first
steam engine to be used in a cotton mill (this was used to replenish the millpond that drove the mill's
waterwheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
rather than to drive the machinery directly).
He was invited to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, where he assisted
David Dale
David Dale (6 January 1739–7 March 1806) was a leading Scottish industrialist, merchant and philanthropist during the Scottish Enlightenment period at the end of the 18th century. He was a successful entrepreneur in a number of areas, m ...
in establishing cotton mills at
New Lanark
New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometres) from Lanark, in Lanarkshire, and some southeast of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1785 and opened in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and hou ...
. A large mill of Arkwright's at Birkacre in Lancashire, was destroyed in the anti-machinery riots of 1779.
Later life
Aggressive and self-sufficient, Arkwright was a difficult man to work with. He bought out all his partners and went on to build factories at
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Matlock Bath
Matlock Bath is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It lies in the Peak District, south of Matlock on the main A6 road, and approximately halfway between Buxton and Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census wa ...
, New Lanark (in partnership with David Dale) and elsewhere. Unlike many entrepreneurs of the time who were nonconformist, he was a member of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
.
Arkwright served as
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
and was knighted in 1786.
He also built
Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle is a late 18th-century country mansion above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire, outside Peak District National Park. The castle has been a Grade II* listed building since April 2000.
Standing in of grounds, the Clas ...
, now a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
, in 1791; after a fire in 1792, it was rebuilt and occupied by his son
Richard Arkwright junior
Richard Arkwright junior (19 December 1755 – 23 April 1843), the son of Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, was a mills owner, turned banker, investor and financier (creditor) of many successful state and private entreprises of the ...
starting in 1796. Arkwright died at Rock House, Cromford, on 3 August 1792, aged 59, leaving a fortune of £500,000. He was buried at
St Giles' Church, Matlock
St Giles' Church, Matlock is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Matlock, Derbyshire.
History
The church is medieval. The south porch was added in 1636. The south aisle was rebuilt in 1760, and the north aisle rebuilt in ...
. His remains were later moved to the family chapel near the castle, now
St Mary's Church, Cromford
St Mary's Church, Cromford, is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Cromford, Derbyshire.
History
The current building replaced an ancient chapel. The church was built to the designs of the architect Thomas Gardner for the ...
.
Memorials
![ArkwrightBluePlaqueAdamSt2012DianeGriffiths](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/ArkwrightBluePlaqueAdamSt2012DianeGriffiths.jpg)
* Richard Arkwright's barber shop in Churchgate, Bolton was demolished early in the 20th century. There is a small plaque above the door of the building that replaced it, recording Arkwright's occupancy.
* A
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
unveiled in 1984 commemorates Arkwright at 8 Adam Street in
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
, London.
* Arkwright lived at Rock House in Cromford, opposite his original mill. In 1788 he purchased an estate from
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
's father, William, for £20,000 and set about building
Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle is a late 18th-century country mansion above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire, outside Peak District National Park. The castle has been a Grade II* listed building since April 2000.
Standing in of grounds, the Clas ...
for himself and his family. However just as the building was completed it was destroyed by fire, and Arkwright was forced to wait a further two years whilst it was rebuilt. He died aged 59 in 1792, never having lived in the castle, which was completed only after his death. After being a hotel owned by the Christian Guild company, Willersley Castle now belongs to outdoor adventure education company Manor Adventure.
*
The Arkwright Society, set up after the bicentenary of
Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill is the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill, developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England. The mill structure is classified as a Grade I listed building. It is now the centrepiece of the D ...
, owns the mill complex and has worked to restore it.
Derwent Valley Mills, including this site, was declared by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
as "one of the country’s 100 irreplaceable sites". It is also the centrepiece of the
Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
* The
Arkwright Scholarships
The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is an engineering award given to engineering students within the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. It has been running since 1991 and, as part of The Smallpeice Trust, has awarded over 6,000 scholarships to ...
Trust was set up in the UK in 1991 in Arkwright's memory to give scholarships to aspiring future leaders in engineering and technical design. By 2014, the Trust was awarding approximately 400 scholarships annually to support students through their 'A' levels and Scottish Highers, and to assist young people undertaking higher-level apprenticeships and university engineering studies. It had awarded over 5,000 scholarships as of mid 2020.
Step up and see where your talent could take you
/ref>
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
External links
*
*
*
Richard Arkwright 1732–1792 Inventor of the Water Frame
Biography and Legacy
Revolutionary Players website
Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
* The New Student's Reference Work/Arkwright, Sir Richard
Descendants of Sir Richard Arkwright
Lancashire Pioneers
– includes an obituary of Arkwright from 1792
The Arkwright Scholarships Trust
– named after Sir Richard. Awards prestigious Scholarships to aspiring future leaders in engineering and design in the UK.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkwright, Richard
British textile industry businesspeople
English inventors
1732 births
1792 deaths
English industrialists
Industrial Revolution in England
People of the Industrial Revolution
Engineers from Preston, Lancashire
Paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby
Burials in Derbyshire
18th-century English businesspeople
People from Cromford
Businesspeople from Preston, Lancashire